Support for brushes



Nov. 29, 1949 R. T. EMBREE SUPPORT FOR BRUSHES Filed May 25, 1948 FIG .3. a2 32 FIG.I.

FIG.4.

OM, m w W I ROY T. EMBREE, 8%

ATTORNEY 2 Patented Nov. 29, 1949 PATENT OFFICE $489,815 eSUBBQRfliFORiBRUSHES RoylT. 1Enibeee,St.fJJouis, Mo.

kpplication-iMayizfi, 1948;3Serial No.'-:29',095

tainer. for example in the supportof lag-paint brush hytitszhandlein. a vertical position within;-a

paint bucket qr the-like.

Nations structures,have,heretoforebeenevolved imaniattemptlto provide a ,ho1der:for .a pal t wbriishaor plurality thereof, {in containers of =;v'

.ous types, (inia mannerto relieve -1the=bristles= f the "weightiof tthe brush-land in a manner to; pro.-

tragainstfsmearingand-loss of paint.

1', 3110216 .of suchdevices heretofore eavailable )zDQse. v Aomajor shortcoming -.of earlier hrush holding ,clips .and ,the r like {is ifound in their 1-inst ability;-and: their tendency to i become deformed 3i distorted after a periodtof ,use when subjected iiqoeatediy -=,to the weight of @the brush heavily laden with paint. It list accordingly ,amajor tob- Je eti-of the present invention to realize ean proved design of device "for the purposeinoted, which may be instantl applied and as duiekly htened-from the uppermarginrof the wall pita. paint cantorbucket; Qneinwhich-the brush holdingacliprzmaybecswung to an-outwf-action posi- 'tiontso asito clear theopeningato theabucketkdnr ing periods of v,painting, and one which, awhentin "use tossupport vthe brush, is exceedingly ,sturdy, willtserve-reliably ,forzlong periods. of itime to sl p- :port the brush :in a vertical position with Reighttofi of the bristles, and entirely clea sid'f theinnercwall of.-the container.

Ajurthercandeimportant:objective ofatheiinyention: is :realizem-in a device for the purposeznote'd rirhich need consist of no more than :two "movablyrelated, viz.,a spring tclampeeng-agingetm Will lot the container, and a spring :clip w.h;ich segues to grip and-supportitheibrush.

:A stills-further and :important objective ofethe v invention is realized-manimprovedaconstruction oficlamprperse, which providesawmore positiae support for the brush .clip than hast-heretofore been .ireallzed. V

fl'llhe foregoingiand numerous other objects of thel invention will more clearlyappearifrom-athe following detailed idescriptionzofia presently pne "ferred embodiment, particularly whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawin tin which:

* Fig. 1 is a vertical'sectional viewuofa brushsupgportgtogether with ..a containerv and brush, .all in m. .osition of usage Qf'the supp r anlisometric view-somewhatenlargedmfl the tradeis whollytadequatesfor its -.i nten d erl ,2 Claims. (CI. 11248-12054 2 of a holder -;-exemplifying the :present improve-- ments;

1Eig.:3iis a sideielevation of the holder of Fig. .-Eig. 4is a'topiorplan View of the assemblyof Ei ;2.,-end c Fig. 5 is a lateral or edgewise view of the. struc- .tureshown by Fig. 2.

rReferringnow bycha-ractersof reference torthe drawing, ,in-order to renderjmore meaningful the advantages of the present,improvements, they are illustratedunder conditions of an exemplaryrsituation jn-;Which the brushis heldin repose betweenperiods of use, suspended vertically within and clear of the walls of a paint can or container BC, the upper margin of the open container joeinglaindicated at TM. and the brush of usual handle -;and bristle type, being generally indicated at B.

.Theqholder as an assembly may conveniently berriescribed as consisting of -twomajor elements,

' iviz a spring clamp generally indicated at it], and

aqspring :clip'or brush holder proper, pivotally connected to member In and generally indicated at to describe the clamp, in the preferred form.:-illustrated this consists of two dissimilar iurqations or jaws l2 and 13, the furcate jaws beingiconnected in a pivot-forming bight portion lfisnormallyat thetop of this assembly, and serving pivotally to receive the spring clip, as will hereinafter he more fully described. The lowermost (or-free ends of the jaws are outturned in divergent-convergent relation, the outturned terminaIsbeing indicated at l5 and it. These serve infawimanner now obvious from Fig. 1, to facilitate application of the clamp 'over the top margin TM ofthelbucket or a can PC.

B preference the clamp It is formed of ;a springt metal stock of such resilience that when formedup, the jaws l2 and i3 are-biased toward eachother, or otherwise expressed, coact in gripping relation to the vertical can wall embraced therebetween.

important feature of the presentimprovetmentconsists in providing one of the jaws such as I2, with an upwardly and. outwardly projecting strut portion ll. An economical arrangement thereof consists in forming the strut H as a dou bled, folded portion of the jaw or leg 12, causing etherstrut-formingpart to project at an acute angle,;;forexample of the order of 45 degrees, to the planar portion of the jaw l2. The strut is extended .in a:direction inwardly of the can with which the device is to be employed, a distance suohithatza brush supported by thedevice will be suspended entirely free and with a substantial spacing from the nearest container wall. This is indicated in order to avoid distortion of the bristles of the brush and their possible disarrangement, as might otherwise occur. That portion of the jaw or furcation l2 upwardly beyond the strut I1 is, in forming, bent over to form a part-cylindrical journal or pivot portion for the reception of a pivot-forming part of the wire clip to be described. Proceeding from this bight or journal portion of the clamp, the opposite jaw or leg i3 is, in a region opposite the root of the strut porv tion, bowed outwardly as will readily appear from Figs. 2 and 5, and as indicated at 2B. This bowed portion it will be observed, lies substantially opposite the divergent root of the strut I! so as to define in this region a horizontal recess 2| (Fig.

so proportioned as to accommodate the usual bead, chime or other thickened portion in the region of the upper edge of the wall of the bucket or can. Such a formation permits the clamp to be free, or substantially so, of any such peripheral projection and still assume a position such that the jaws i2 and i3 lie in close parallelism to the opposite sides of the can wall with firm gripping engagement thereof.

The angle, linear extent and other characteristics of the strut i! are such that its outermost end 22, forming as will appear, a rest or support for the intermediate part of the brush clip, lies slightly below the pivot axis defined by the bight or journal portion 14. In this manner, the clip will assume in its position of use, a horizontal position and is thus sturdily supported to withstand the sometimes considerable loading of larger brushes even when filled with lead or other relatively heavy types of paint and finishing materials.

Proceeding now to describe with more particularity the preferred form of spring clip generally indicated at II, this is of a generally T shape, and by preference but without restriction, is formed of a resilient wire stock of suitable gauge. The clip is comprised of a pair of arms or jaws 3i} and 3i, each jaw provided with outturned terminal portions 32 and about centrally of the clip with outwardly bowed formations 33 which coact to form therebetween a gripping seat normally embracing, as in Fig. 1, the reducedsectional portion of the handle of brush B. The temper of the stock of this clip is such that it exhibits a rather secure frictional engagement with the opposite sides of the handle and vir-' tually completely embraces it in this region. The resilience of the wire stock is further such that an appreciable yet minor effort in forcing the brush handle into the mouth between the divergent terminals 32 of the clip, serves to separate the jaws 363I momentarily which there-' after close about the neck of the brush handle.

The two arms or jaws of the clip H converge just rearwardly of the brush seat formed by and between the bowed portions 33, and thereupon are bent oppositely with corresponding parts aligned, thence reentrantly formed to constitute the pivot portion of the clip which extends through and substantially completely occupies the journalforming bight region I 4 of the bifurcate clamp structure.

It is a preference of course, separately to form' the clamp l0 and clip I l Assembly may be readily effected by introducing the pivot part 34 of the clip between the divergent ends l5l6 of the clamp, thence upwardly between the jaws, and with some resistance, into the final assembled 4 relation of the parts as shown. The resilience of the stock and its close convergence just below the portion M are more than adequate to maintain the coacting pivot elements in assembly.

The manner of application of the device to a metal container such as a paint can or bucket, will now have become obvious at least in part. It is necessary, once the can cover is removed or top portion cut away as may be required, to press the clamp over the can edge so as to cause the introduction of the margin TM of the container to the zone between the divergent lips I'5i5 of the clamp. Continued downward movement will bring the clamp to a position such that its bead or rim will become firmly seated in the recess or pocket 2| therefor between the furcations or jaws of the clamp.

In order to bring the clip to a position of usage it is moved clockwise (Figs. 1 and 5) to horizontal position as shown, in which the strut 22 bears against an intermediate part of the wire clip, and by preference it is shown engaging the region ad jacent the bowed portions 33 of the jaws 30 and 3 i.

It will now have appeared that the spring clip II is thus supported at relatively widely spaced points, and one of which is, the outer extremity of the strut [1, more specifically the zone indi cated at 22, the other spaced supporting point being in the pivot zone. In this manner there are obviated many of the shortcomings of the former devices for intended and comparable usage in relying solely on a fulcrum support or stop in the immediate region of the pivot of a clip or the like It will have been noted that the present device inherently provides a feature of retractibility, or otherwise expressed, the assembly enables the brush supporting member to be moved, counter-- clockwise in the arrangement of the drawings (Figs. 1, 2 and 5) so that the clip lies entirely externally of the container and thus offers note: struction to or interference with normal mov'e f ments of the brush in and out of the container," incident to painting operations.

It is to be understood of course that although the arrangement has been described for-brevity in the form of a single unit, a plurality of wire clips such as I! may be utilized in assembly of a multiple holder. The supporting clamp structure may in such case consist of a plurality of the individual clamps, strapped or otherwise as-' sembled in side-b-y-side relation, or alternately," somewhat wider clamps Ill may be employedfin which separate spaced pivot portions M are pro?" vided for assembly of the individual clips.

It will now have appeared that the device'as described in a presently preferred embodimentf will serve as an unusually rugged and compact arrangement for the noted purpose; that itinay' be manufactured at a low cost, and supplied commercially at a reasonable figure, all in run-- realization of the several objects hereinabove ex pressed as well as others implied.

'Although the invention has been described'by i making reference to a single selected embodi- -ment, the detail of description is to be under stood solely in an instructive rather than in any limiting sense, numerous variants being possible within the intended scope of the claims hereunto appended. I claim as my invention:

1. In a holder for the support of a paint brush or the like vertically within and spaced from the wall of a paint bucket, a bifurcate clamp formed of spring metal, the furcations of which =comprise a pair of spring jaws, the jaws being normally self-biased toward each other, the free ends of the furcate jaws being divergent wher by to facilitate application of the clamp over the vertical wall of the container with one of the jaws located within the container, said internal jaw having a doubled and folded portion projected upwardly at an acute angle to the plane of the jaw to form a strut, thence being continued to a region slightly above said strut, in a rounded bight portion forming a journal for a brush clip; a brush clip of resilient wire stock and furcate construction including a substan tially rectilinear pivot portion extending through and swingably supported within the journal por tion of the clamp, the clip being extended in a direction inwardly of the container with which the device is used to form a pair of spring arms, the arms being formed and coacting to provide a loop-like handle socket for receiving a narrow part of a paint brush handle, the free extremities of the clip being formed divergently to facilitate introduction of the brush handle to its supported position in the clip, the clip being engaged by the strut in a region close to the brush handle, and the clip being swingably movable to a position exteriorly of the container and approaching the outside jaw or furcation of said clamp.

2. In a holder for supporting a paint brush or the like in vertical position from the walls of a container, a bifurcate spring clamp adapted to mounted in the last said portion and normallyassuming, in a position of use, a substantially horizontal position, the jaws being formed in a region below the pivot portion to provide a hori-- zontal bore between the jaws adapted to receive the bead or like enlargement on the upper margin of the can, said strut and pivot portion of the clamp coactin to support the wire clip respectively in zones adjacent the brush engaging part of the clip, and at one end of the said clip.

ROY T. EMBREE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 377,526 Levy Feb. 7, 1888 910,158 Walker Jan. 19, 1909 2,278,401 Micari- Mar. 31, 1942 

